Aging Saisons?

From what I've heard any saison with Brett* yeast will develop with age.
And from my experience I've had a 3 year old goose island sofie that was fantastic along with a year old victory Helios compared to a fresh one I had the aged was MUCH better. I'll have to try a fresh sofie to compare.

 

Goose Island Sofie ages very well.

I've had older Saison DuPont and Stillwater saisons. They're still tasty, but I don't think age made these any more enjoyable.

Still, saisons aren't one of those styles where I have in my mind..."must drink quickly"...after I buy a 4/6-pack. To me, they can sit in the fridge for several weeks and still be very good.

 

Stuff with Brett usually ages well like Fantome and Orval. I tried aging some Biere de Gardes and some non-Brett Saisons and it didn't end well after a year or so. Also with some of them it is hard to tell how old they are in the first place. If you want to try aging some I would go after some of the american saisons that have wild yeast in them.

 

In my experience only saisons with Brett will improve noticeably, but it is a style that stays good for a longer time than most.

 

Can get better or worse, like any other beer you'd age. Do some science... personal preference and batch variation can come into play as well

 

Fantome Pissenlit is a relatively average (good, but nothing special) saison when consumed fresh. However I had a 3 year old bottle at Ebenezer's Pub in Maine and it was fantastic. It was very tart and slightly earthy.

I happen to prefer tart saisons though. Some may be turned off by the taste.

 

Brett or Wild Ales age wonderfully - especially beers that have been barrel aged an/or bottle conditioned.

I had a two year old La Tache from The Ale Apothecary next to a bottle that was only a few months old. Huge difference. As much as I like the newer one, I don't think I'll drink another without aging it first.

 

Excellent post.

 

Generally i will definetly consider aging a Saison if its bottle conditioned.

 

brett ages really well but if it is dry hopped or spiced those characteristics will fall off drastically.

 

what if it is brett aged but also dry hopped?
will the hop degradation ruin the flavor of the beer?